I Dare Not Ask A Kiss
by Beauty-Queen1979
Summary: *SS/HG*Snape is arrested for the murder of Cornelius Fudge&suspended from teaching.Who framed him&how can Hermione help? Because, of course, falling in love has never helped anyone...Chap7-Underneath It All
1. Murder In The Ministry Part One

**I Dare Not Ask A Kiss – A Severus Snape/Hermione Granger story.**

Summery for Chapter One/Chapter Two – Murder In The Ministry (1&2) – Minutes before the murder of Cornelius Fudge at the Ministry's Halloween Dinner and Dance, Severus Snape is seen arguing with him. Is Severus so full of hate and anger towards the man that he has resorted to murder?

Rating: PG-13 – For language in later chapters, the rating may or may not go up, but I will warn in advance.

**Disclaimer for all chapters:** All Harry Potter characters/places belong to J.K.Rowling her respective publishers/moviemakers/copyright holders. I make no money from this; I am just a teenager with an over-active imagination and too much free time. **Don't sue**. Title taken from poem featured in Chapter One ...I don't know who owns the copyrights, but the writer is named and the poem sure isn't mine. **So go figure**. I own all characters that you don't recognise – if their lives/names/personality etc resembles any fictional/real people out there it was unintentional and purely coincidental.

Please read - - - This is the first serious fic I've written, and it is, as is obvious, a SS/HG fic. I haven't read any with my storyline before...I mean the one about the murder, that forces the two 'together', but if it has been done before I'm sorry about that. It's a total coincidence. If you want to contact me about that, my email is have to admit that although this is a SS/HG fic, it will be slow moving so please be patient with me! In this story Hermione and her other classmates are in their 7th year and are all 18. For the purpose of this story, Voldemort is still very much around and the Ministry still isn't doing anything about it (like at the end of the fourth book when Fudge refuses to believe Voldemort is 'back' – think along those lines.) In this way, the story is really set where the fourth book leaves off.

Reviews are gladly welcomed, and if you feel the need to flame me that's fine – just give a good reason as to why you're doing it, and please, use more advanced language than "U sUck!!1!!" otherwise I'll just view you as an immature idiot who has no life, lol.

I would also be thankful for any constructive criticism, advice and help. I don't claim to be a brilliant writer, and would be grateful if anyone could help improve it! Also, if you want me to return the favour of a review - tell me, I like to read!

Have a good time reading this and I hope you like it.

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**Murder In The Ministry – Part One**

I dare not ask a kiss

I dare not beg a smile

Lest having that, or this,

I might grow proud the while.

No no, the utmost share

Of my desire shall be

Only to kiss that air

That lately kissed thee.

**Robert Herrick (1591 – 1674)**

* * *

It was now almost ten minutes after the time Harry and Ron had told Hermione to meet them. And they still hadn't shown up. Hermione wasn't too concerned about it, for she was beginning to regret agreeing to go to the Halloween Dinner and Dance at the Ministry's countryside manor tonight and the later they were, the less time she'd have to spend there. She was regretting agreeing because of one person: Severus Snape, the Potions Master at Hogwarts. He had been invited to the evening by Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts and born optimist, in a bid to create a reasonable friendship between Snape and Cornelius Fudge – The Minister of Magic. Hah, thought Hermione, it was more likely that Professor Trelawney would make a real prediction before Snape and Fudge considered themselves as friends, even for Dumbledore's sake.

Hermione's feelings towards Snape now, in her 7th year, were pretty much the same as they had been since her 1st year at Hogwarts. She had no desire to ever have to face the man in a social situation or indeed any situation outside of listening to him in class and getting points taken from Gryffindor. His whole attitude towards others made her want to scream, for the man had no social grace and seemingly not a scrap of kindness in his bones. She knew that several of the Slytherin girls thought he was rather good-looking, but unless he had another side that only the Slytherins saw, she couldn't see the attraction. The person that you convey through words affects how you look, thought Hermione, and Snape is harsh, uncouth and downright ugly in his words.

A loud banging on the bathroom door caused Hermione to lose her train of thought. A familiar, yet muffled voice, shouted,

"Hermione? Hermione, are you in there?"

"Yeah! I'll be out in just a minute!" Hermione replied, and then turned back to the mirror for one last check. Her hair was in place; her skin was as good as she was going to get it and her dress was passable. Looking down she quickly checked to see if she had any toilet paper stuck to her new shoes, which she thankfully hadn't. It seemed to Hermione that whenever she used public toilets, toilet paper always ended up on the bottom of her shoes – only to cause her embarrassment.

As she opened the bathroom door she was greeted with both Ron and Harry frantically telling her that they were all going to be late. I hope we don't even make it...thought Hermione bitterly.

* * *

Snape stood outside Hagrid's hut in his most impatient pose. Dumbledore was busy talking to Hagrid about goodness-knows-what and Snape was not happy, having been made to stand outside in the drizzling rain wearing his formal robes. He couldn't remember how he had let himself be conned into going to this dance that Fudge was holding at one of the Ministry's many "country office buildings". As if everybody didn't know that they were only used for their extensive golf courses. Still, this evening would give Snape the chance to talk to Fudge, and to tell him exactly what had been on his mind recently.

"Albus!"

Snape knocked the door sharply and repeated,

"Albus!"

Dumbledore opened the door smiling,

"I'll just be a couple more minutes Serverus, remember, it's fashionable to be late!"

With those words, the door was promptly shut. Snape sighed and stared up at the darkened sky and winced as heavy raindrops began to fall upon his head.

He was not looking forward to this evening.

* * *

"Who all has been invited tonight?" Snape asked as he and Dumbledore walked up the corridor to the grand entrance doors of the hall where the Dance was being held. Dumbledore thought for a moment then, smiling, replied,

"More people that I would care not to see than I would like. But I'm sure I'll have a good night anyway."

Snape sighed,

"As long as that dratted Collins woman doesn't show up, I may be able to have a reasonable time."

"Really Severus, you do hold a grudge for the longest time. The two of you broke up years ago – and she's been married since. She goes by the name of Maxwell now."

Snape let out a sarcastic laugh,

"Ha, yes, how could I have forgotten? She married old Jonathan Maxwell," Snape paused for a second to grind his teeth with controlled anger at the very thought of the woman, "There is only one word that I would use to describe her...marriage...to Jonathan and that is gold-digging," Snape shook his head, "I'm surprised he didn't ask for a pre-nuptial agreement. Perhaps if he had he would have lived longer than three months after their wedding."

Dumbledore let out a chuckle,

"I do hope you're not implying the respected Cheryl Maxwell was involved in the death of her husband, Severus."

"Imply? No, Albus, I'm telling you." Snape gave Dumbledore a quick, cold smile, then walked through the entrance doors into the dazzling light of the dance hall.

Several minutes later, a red-faced Fudge, full of alcohol, slapped Dumbledore heartily on the back,

"Still convinced You-Know-Who is up and about, ey old chap?"

Dumbledore smiled coolly and nodded, deciding all in all it was best not to bother with politics and differences tonight. The room being used for the dance was huge, and like the Great Hall back at Hogwarts, the ceiling imitated the night sky. Looking around him, Snape realised he was surrounded by the rich and the powerful. The Snape family were pretty well off, but no way near as influential as the general majority of wizards in the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Snape could see Lucius Malfoy on the other side of the hall talking with Arthur Weasley. Or rather, talking down to. The Weasleys were not members of the majority. But, although Snape would never have admitted it to anyone, they were a decent family – far more so than any others in this room. He could see Ron standing beside his father, looking uncomfortable. And wherever Ron is, thought Snape, Potter can't be far away. As if fate had read his mind, Harry appeared from behind Ron, and dragged his friend to a nearby table. Snape was suddenly woken from his thoughts by Dumbledore's patronisingly happy voice,

"Severus? Have you lost all your manners?"

Snape smiled briefly at Dumbledore then turned to Fudge and watched, in disgust, as he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the glistening sweat from his brow, an edge of nervousness in his actions. Fudge then looked to Snape, and Snape did what he was always taught to do, and extended his hand slowly,

"Cornelius."

"Severus."

Fudge took hold of Snape's hand gingerly, and was right to do so. For no sooner had Fudge taken hold of his hand, Snape had clasped his hand tightly around it, dragging Fudge in close to his face.

"Still seemingly oblivious to the last few years, Cornelius?" Snape asked harshly. He was not wishing to waste time on pleasantries with the fool for they were not needed. Snape knew why he had forced himself into coming to the damned dance, and he was not going to spend the night being polite to a man he couldn't care less for. He had come to talk to Fudge, and was going to talk to Fudge.

Fudge stared into Snapes threatening face and let out a flustered,

"What?"

Snape ignored Dumbledore's hand, which was now holding onto his right arm trying to pull him away.

"I think you heard me," hissed Snape, "How dare you reject the offer of Professor Dumbledore's help for the third year running! How dare you ignore everything that goes on outside your comfy office!"

Fudge narrowed his eyes, knowing full well what Snape was talking about and realised that Snape was meaning to start something,

"Help? HELP? Ever since he started up with this ridiculous obsession with You-Know-Who's return I've had nothing but extra bother due to him! All he has managed to do, to 'help', is create a wave of paranoia throughout the country and a bucketful of extremely upset and angry parents!"

Snape stared at the shouting man, and after a moments stunned silence from all those who surrounded them hissed,

"Fudge, did it ever occur to you that perhaps..." Snape had to stop himself from naming Voldemort, "...You-Know-Who has returned? That he is, in fact, alive? Or are you too scared to believe it," Snape looked around to make sure that there were listeners to hear his next comment, "Too scared to believe it in case he finds out where you've ended up all these years later, after so...publicly denying him..."

From the other side of the room, Hermione could hear a sudden uproar from several people. Standing up to get a better view of whatever was going on, she wasn't surprised to see that Snape was in the thick of the fight. She watched as Dumbledore dragged Snape away from Fudge, and Snape, though dishevelled, was looking proud of himself. Fudge, on the other hand, was looking extremely angry and embarrassed. With several officials at his side, he marched very publicly out of the dance hall, swearing colourfully. Percy laughed into his drink beside Hermione,

"Hah, serves the man right if Snape went for his throat."

Hermione sighed,

"Percy, don't say things like that. And for goodness sake," She took Percy's wine glass away from him as she spoke,

"Stop drinking! It's very unlike you."

"Oh well." Percy shrugged, then sat back in his chair, "My application for promotion was refused -," Percy ran his fingers through his hair as he said, "Again." Hermione smiled softly, and patted his hand,

"Don't fret over it. You're still young," she laughed briefly, "You're the youngest in your department as it is!"

"I know. But I also work harder than all of them put together. Their idea of a productive day is seeing how many times they can hit a picture of Fudge in the nose with darts," Percy sighed and began to pick at the tablecloth, "I deserve a little more recognition – don't you think?" Percy smiled weakly at Hermione, who didn't really know what to say. Percy did work hard at his job and certainly harder than most people she knew worked at anything. Laughing into herself, she recalled how much she had fancied him in first and second year. It had always been such a nice change to see someone so organised and focused on work, basically she liked to see someone who was on her wavelength. Percy and Hermione had always been close, and throughout Percy's last years in Hogwarts they had spent many lunchtimes together happy to have someone to relate to, and not get laughed at over how seriously they took their studies. At one point, Hermione thought they might have had something more – but she realised her childish fantasies for what they were when he had started seeing Penelope. I mean it was stupid really, thinking that he would have gone for her when she had been so much younger - such age gaps only work once you've hit at least 25.

Rousing herself from her thoughts, Hermione clapped her hands on the table suddenly,

"Well, Percy, I don't know about you, but I think it's time I went to find Harry and Ron. Goodness knows what they're getting up to with out me around to stop them. "

Percy laughed for a moment as he watch Hermione walk away, then sighed and turned back to his drink.

* * *


	2. Murder In The Ministry Part Two

Murder In The Ministry – Part Two 

~~~~~

As Hermione made her way across the dance floor to the drinks table she absent-mindedly elbowed someone beside her, who, in turn, let out an agitated groan,

"Look what you've done!"

Hermione turned to face the angry voice and was met with the stare of a young man. She threw her hand to her mouth in embarrassment,

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! I was in such a rush I didn't see you!" 

The man sighed and wiped at his robes with a napkin, trying not to let any more of his drink drip onto them,

"It doesn't matter. That's the good thing about black – no stains ever show," the man relaxed a little and smiled, "Do I know you? You look familiar…are you a Hogwart's student?"

"Yes. I'm in my 7th year." 

"Ah. I thought I recognised your face – you're the only one in the school who knows that a thing called the 'library' exists," The man let out a short laugh at his own joke, "I'm Marc. I'm the assistant librarian at your school. Though I spend so much time in the back rooms sorting out administration you've probably never seen me." 

Hermione smiled,

"No, I think I've seen you once or twice. My name's Hermione." 

Marc smiled and shook her hand gently,

"Pleasure to finally talk with you. I would ask you to dance… but I was planning on leaving now. I have rather a lot of work to get through tonight," he let out another laugh, "It's tough work being a librarian."

Hermione laughed as Marc sighed jokingly. Then he walked away, only to get lost in the crowds.  

~~~~~

As she stood in the queue for the punch, Hermione felt a soft tapping on her shoulder that made her turn round in a slight fright. Dumbledore was standing there with a twinkle in his eye. Hermione had come to learn that whenever Dumbledore looked at somebody like that it was because he was about to ask them to do something, or tell them something, that they didn't want to hear. Smiling she greeted him,

"Professor Dumbledore! I wasn't sure if you were going to come or not."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world. But how did you come across a ticket?"

"Since Molly couldn't come, Ron came via her ticket instead and he didn't want to be alone. So Arthur, I mean Mr. Weasley, got Harry and myself a ticket."

"I should've guessed," Dumbledore laughed, and then continued, "Miss Granger, would you be so kind as to do me a little favour?"

"Probably…" Hermione gave Dumbledore a worried look. 

"As I'm sure you noticed, Professor Snape managed to get himself into a little…scene…a few minutes ago. It would probably help his reputation in the eyes of the people who saw him if he were to dance with someone..." Whatever Dumbledore had planned to say to Hermione next was lost as Snape walked over. With an icy smile he looked at Dumbledore and said levelly,

"If you are suggesting that I dance with Miss Granger here Albus, I have to say I would rather not. Personally I don't want the word 'paedophile' to be added to the list of names the people in this room already have for me."

Dumbledore sighed,

"I don't think anybody would think that Severus. I believe it would help you a great deal if you were seen to be dancing, rather than sitting in a corner and scowling all night. And I also believe that it would be good if you were to dance with the Head Girl." Dumbledore gave Snape a smile. At that point in time Snape knew he had lost and grudgingly bowed to Hermione, and lead her out to the dance floor.

~~~~~

Snape stared over Hermione's shoulder without saying a word, as they moved slowly around the dance floor. The crowds around him noticed the couple and began to mutter. Brilliant, thought Snape, I told Dumbledore that this would be a bad idea. 

"Professor?"

Snape looked down into Hermione's face suddenly, as if he had just noticed that she was there. Without even a trace of a smile he asked,

"Yes?"

"There's a woman waving over to us a few feet behind you. I think she might be trying to get your attention."

Snape's eyebrows furrowed in thought, then he twirled himself and Hermione round so he could see who it was that Hermione was talking about. Across the floor, waving and wearing hideously bright red robes with over the top gaudy gold jewellery was Cheryl Maxwell. 

"Damn." Snape mumbled as Cheryl made her way over to him. 

"Severus darling!" Cheryl beamed and held her hand out to him. Snape let go of Hermione and bowed to Cheryl,

"Ms. Maxwell. What a surprise to see you here…"

Cheryl let out a giggle and blushed,

"Oh now Severus! You know you can call me Cheryl – no need to act so refined around little old me."

Hermione let out a muffled laugh, trying hard to imagine Cheryl as anywhere near 'little' – the woman was one of the plumpest ladies Hermione had ever set her eyes on. Snape shot Hermione an irritated look, but she wasn't in the least bit worried about because with Cheryl around it was highly unlikely he would be shout at her. Snape gave her a controlled smile and said,

"Miss Granger… why don't you run along and find your friends?"

Hermione gave Snape a sarcastic smile then walked away to find Ron and Harry. Snape waited until she was out of sight before he turned his attentions back to Cheryl. 

"Severus, I must ask…" Cheryl whispered, staring into his eyes as she took one of his hands. Snape paled and pulled away from her quickly, then before Cheryl had a chance to finish her sentence he said,

"I'm sorry Cheryl, I'm not feeling too good. I think I may go outside for a bit of fresh air - alcohol goes straight to my head," Then Snape turned abruptly on his heels and left the hall with speed. 

Snape ran out into the darkness, where the rain was still pounding the ground. The night had steadily grown worse for him with each new minute that passed, and now that Cheryl had turned up it was doomed to become even worse. Snape sat down on one of the front steps and pushed his hair out of his eyes, glad to have gotten away from her before she tried to trick him into going on some sort of date "for old time's sake"- for he hated the woman. Snape had dated Cheryl for around three months when he had been in his seventh year at Hogwarts, and the whole affair had ended in a particularly nasty way. She had had the nerve to come back to him two weeks after he had broken up with her claiming that she was pregnant with his child. The ignorant woman had even gone to the authorities over it, thought Snape as he sighed, claiming that the pregnancy had been the result of rape. Luckily the case had been dismissed pretty quickly, for there was no evidence that Snape had done anything to her. And because she had a reputation within the school for making up stories just to get attention, Snape added sourly.  

Snape dragged himself out of his memories of his time with Cheryl and went back to thinking about what was happening at the moment. He was glad that he had had the chance to tell Fudge his feelings in front of as many people as he did. He knew that Dumbledore would be angry once they arrived back at Hogwarts – but Snape didn't mind. Now that he had said to Fudge about rejecting Dumbledore's help in front of others, he was bound to have to take some action. Whether this meant joining Dumbledore or splitting away from him, thought Snape, we'll figure out where he stands. 

After a few more minutes reflective thinking, Snape stood up slowly and stretched muttering,

"Back to the cynical masses…" He then turned and walked up the steps leading to the front doors of the building. 

As Snape drew closer to the open doors, he could hear shouting coming from inside. Upon entering, he could see several of the Ministry's elite group of guards closing the doors to the dance hall. Snape's face crinkled up in confusion and he quickened his pace, curious to find out what was going on. Walking up behind a man in dark blue robes, Snape excused himself and asked what was going on, 

"Pardon me, but why has the hall been closed off?" 

The man Snape was talking to spun around and when it registered that it was Snape who had talked to him he let out a cry of,

"Over here! He's over here!" 

Before Snape had any idea as to what was going on, he felt his arms being grabbed roughly from behind him, and saw several people running towards him with angered expressions on their faces. A gruff voice from beside him made Snape turn round,

"Severus Snape?"

"What is the meaning of this?" Snape hissed furiously, glaring at the stocky man who had just spoken. The man ignored him and asked,

"Are you Severus Snape?"

"Yes of course I am you fool!" Snape tried to wriggle free from the men that were holding him, but was unable to. The man continued,

"Severus Snape, I am arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Cornelius Fudge. You have the right to remain silent but anything that you do say…"

Snape couldn't believe what he was hearing and looked up at the man in shock, for once at a loss for words.  

~~~~~


	3. The Daily Prophet Reports

**A/N:** I'm not brilliant at writing newspaper articles, so I hope this turns out ok.

~~~~~

**Chapter Three – The Daily Prophet Reports** *Newspaper Article*

~~~~~

SNAPE SUSPECT FOR FUDGE'S MURDER 

The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was murdered last night at Hollyleaf House, the mansion bequeathed to the Ministry by the late Jonathan Maxwell after his untimely death 20 years ago. Ministry officials have told The Daily Prophet that the murder was "unexpected by all and decidedly gruesome." The murder took place between the hours of 10 and 11pm during one of the Ministry's famed Dinner and Dance parties. It is reported that the Minister's guards heard screaming coming from his office, and upon entering they found Fudge's wand near the doorway, broken in half. Fudge's body itself was lying sprawled face down over his desk with multiple stabs to the back of his body. On further inspection, it became clear that he had also been stabbed twice in the front of his upper torso. 

Severus Snape, a member of one of the oldest and most revered wizarding families in Europe, was arrested half an hour after the finding of the deceased Cornelius Fudge. The basis for arrest was due to his public aggression towards Fudge earlier in the evening – when he accused him of refusing to listen to Dumbledore's claims that You-Know-Who has been regaining strength. The Ministry released a statement a month ago over these claims, telling the public that so far there is no truth in the rumours that Dumbledore has been maliciously spreading. Snape then went on to imply that Fudge had some involvement with You-Know-You, which only brings into question Snape's own involvement. It has been rumoured for many years that Snape was a Deatheater, but the respected Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has long denied these allegations on Snape's behalf. 

When Dumbledore was asked about the rumours of Snape's loyalties and if he believed Snape did murder Fudge after Snape's arrest, he refused to comment. 

One of our on-site reporters, Rita Skeeter, was able to speak with three other individuals at the party, two of whom are students at Hogwarts where Snape has been teaching Potions for several years. 

"Ron Weasley (18) the youngest son of Arthur Weasley, a Ministry worker, told me that Snape, 'was a devil for giving out detentions, but I couldn't see him murdering anyone.'" says Rita, "But I could see in his eyes that he was terrified, as if afraid of saying a bad word against Snape. I then confronted a girl, whom I had met three years ago during the disastrous return of the Tri-wizard tournament, by the name of Hermione Granger (18) who told me that it was 'sad to see Fudge die in such a tragic way', but she refused to give out any information as to her thoughts on Snape. One must only conclude that the students are too scared to name Snape out of fear of what he might do to them after his release. Later that night I was also able to talk with Cheryl Maxwell (41), one of the wizarding society's high-fliers, who told me that Snape had 'left the hall in a hurry, after telling me that he was drunk. I was scared that he might try to do something.' When I asked Cheryl if she believed that Snape was the killer, she replied positively telling me, 'Yes… I would not put it past him.'" 

Snape is now being detained at Azkaban, but it is suspected that he will be released within a matter of hours unless enough evidence against him is found. His arrest has made the Ministry more active in investigating Dumbledore's running of Hogwarts. It had been made clear that if Dumbledore allows Snape to teach on his release, they plan to remove Dumbledore from the school and place it under temporary control of the Ministry's Education Department. 

~~~~~

**Please review, thank you.   **


	4. Replacements

**Chapter Four - Replacements-** Rather cliché I know, but I think it works...

~~~~~

Dumbledore stood still as he watched the entrance to Azkaban with worried anticipation. He had been unable to stop the Ministry from sending Snape there immediately after his arrest for the murder of Cornelius Fudge on the 31st of October. Luckily no evidence had been found to support the allegations that had been placed at Snape's doorstep, which meant that the Ministry were only allow to detain Snape for 36 hours, before they legally had to release him. 

Dumbledore was now having to face the predicament of whether he should stand up for Snape's innocence by keeping him on as the Potions Master at Hogwarts, or to give into the Ministry's threats and suspend him. The case for keeping Snape on was not helped by the amount of mail that had been steadily flowing into Hogwarts from fearful parents over the course of the last day, ever since the report on the murder and arrest had been printed in the Daily Prophet. He had tried to reason with the parents who had sent the first few batches of letters, but this had made many of them more agitated than before, causing the school to even start to receive Howlers. 

Sighing as he saw the doors that lead into the prison open slowly, Dumbledore watched as Snape was lead out by Arthur Weasley. Two Dementors lingered at the doors for a moment or two, before closing them with a dull thud. Dumbledore knew Snape would not appreciate a false smile from him, so his face remained looking as grave and as worried as he felt inside. Arthur nodded to Dumbledore,

"Albus."

"Arthur." Dumbledore replied then glanced over at Snape, whose face looked more drained of blood and lifeless than normal. Arthur shook his head and spoke as if he was trying to apologise for Snape's arrest,

"The Ministry thought it was necessary to put him in one of the top security cells, I'm afraid he's still a shaken up from the experience...even if he only spent a matter of hours there."

"I see. Thank you for coming here to walk him out for me, I would prefer not to have to face others from the Ministry who are threatening to take away the one thing that means the most to me."

Arthur nodded and gave Dumbledore a sad smile. He then watched as Dumbledore reached out and put an arm around Snape's shoulders then lead him to a portkey that had been set up that morning, to transport the two straight to Hogwarts. 

~~~~~

Hermione leant against the wall outside Snape's dungeon reading her potion's book. None of her classmates had turned up for Monday morning's lesson (bar Ron and Harry, who were only there to try and persuade her to leave) - for they knew that Snape was not going to teach, and that Dumbledore hadn't yet found a replacement teacher. Harry thumped the wall out of boredom and whined,

"Come on Hermione, there's no point in us being here! Why are you forcing Ron and I to miss a free period?"

"**I'm** not forcing you two to do anything. And neither am not stopping you from leaving," Hermione paused and closed her book, "It's not my fault if I want to learn. I don't want to get behind just because Snape has managed to get himself caught up in this ridiculous murder case."

"What do you mean 'caught up'? You can only get caught up in a murder if you didn't commit the crime." Harry said winking to Ron. Hermione gave him a withering look,

"I know you're only saying that to get a reaction out of me, you know. So I'm not going to bite the bait." Hermione picked up her bag and slung it onto her shoulder then began to walk away. Ron gasped mockingly, 

"I thought you weren't going to leave here until the end of the period!"

"I wasn't, but you two are distracting me so much that I figured I'd get more work done in the peace and quiet of the library. **If** you two even know what that is - apart from a haven for books that the two of you shouldn't be reading," Hermione gave them a quick sarcastic smile, then added,

"And I don't think Snape did commit the murder. **And **I know you two don't either."

After Hermione had rounded the corner at the end of the corridor, Ron turned to Harry shaking his head and said,

"She really needs to learn how to live a little."

~~~~~

"What do you mean you have to 'suspend' me?" Snape said angrily, rising out of his chair. Dumbledore smiled calmly from across the table,

"There really is no other option Severus. I cannot let the Ministry take Hogwarts away from me, especially now that Lucius Malfoy is running for Minister of Magic. Merlin only knows what will happen if he gets into office and takes control of things here..."

Snape put his head in his hands and murmured,

"You can't take my job away from me Albus..." 

"I have no choice."

"But you know I didn't kill Fudge!" Snape pushed his hair out of his face and stared helplessly at Dumbledore. Dumbledore stood up and smiled sympathetically,

"I know you didn't Severus. All the staff knows that you didn't. But our students may not, and their parents don't. There is nothing else I can do."

Snape thought for a moment in silence then said,

"There is no one else to teach in my place."

Dumbledore sighed and shook his head, 

"If the worst comes to the worst Severus, then I will teach."

Snape let out a sharp laugh,

"Albus, I know you hate potions - you'd sooner be seen voting for Lucius than to willingly take up the position as a potions professor."

"Sometimes it is necessary to do things that we don't like, in order to hold on to the things that we do."

Snape slumped back into his chair and gave in. Then sighing he took a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Dumbledore,

"It's from my Housekeeper. My home has been bombarded by the public - I can't go home, death threats have been pouring in through every entrance...or so she says."

Dumbledore nodded as he read the letter,

"Yes...I feel it is too dangerous to let you go home," Dumbledore looked up at Snape and smiled, "You are welcome to stay here as long as you need to Severus. I see no reason why you cannot remain living here; you are, after all, only suspended. I have not fired you yet, and nor do I intend to," Dumbledore paused and thought for a moment, "And as for me teaching potions...well, I have been looking into an alternative..."

Snape raised an inquisitive eyebrow and leaned forward to hear what Dumbledore had to suggest.

~~~~~****

Hermione glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall at the far side of the library. She had five minutes left before her scheduled potions class was supposed to end. Hermione was already working on the chapters they were to be covering in potions class in March - for she'd always believed it was good to be ahead of the game. It also helped her stay on the right side of Snape - at least when it came down to her abilities in potions. Although he didn't like her, and she knew it, he could never pin her down with any detentions or take away points from her over the quality and level of her work. She always got an amazing sense of satisfaction when she would outsmart him by answering him correctly whenever he would try to trick her by asking questions on topics that they hadn't yet covered in class.

Twirling her quill in thought, she began to wonder about Fudge's murder. For sure, she didn't believe that Snape was capable of killing anybody in such a brutal fashion...and indeed, in a muggle fashion. In her mind, if Snape had wanted to kill Fudge he would have killed him using showy curses - to prove his capabilities as a wizard. Snape took a lot of pride in everything he did; Hermione would give him credit for that, regardless of anything else that she thought about him. 

"Hermione...isn't it?"

Hermione jumped and looked up to see a familiar looking face smiling at her. 

"Yes...and you're..." Hermione bit her lip, trying to remember what the man was called, "You're..."

"Marc." 

"Marc! Yes, sorry, I remember now," she laughed, "How are you?"

"I'm grand. But I didn't really come over here for a social call - this just arrived in the internal mail. Don't know how whoever sent you this figured out that you were here."

Hermione took the letter from Marc's hand and, on opening it, glanced at the signature. She rolled her eyes,

"The sender knows me all to well," Hermione stood up and gathered her things, then smiled at Marc, "Thanks for bringing it over to me."

"No problem...are you going so soon?"

Hermione flashed the letter at Marc and gave him a confused shrug,

"They say it's urgent."

~~~~~

I know this is going rather slow at the moment...but the Snape/Hermione element will be surfacing within the next few chapters...Rushing it will just make it seem illogical lol... but I promise it will get good. 

Thanks to: Tegan, Matt4Tai, Snapebelongstome, VanilaLips, Charlotte Black, Laura, Footmonster, Lynda, Snakecharmer. 

Reader feedback would be MUCH appreciated, thank you ^_^


	5. Choices Come Hand in Hand With Consequen...

**Chapter Five – Choices Come Hand in Hand With Consequences.**

**Thank you so much for all your reviews, you rock most profoundly! --- **Lynda, Snakecharmer, starfruit, Charlotte Black (you guessed right!!), Chasing Snape is my hobby (Thx for reviewing Charlotte!), Severely Snaped, Pailay, Mandy Snape, Anna Taure.

**Once again I do stress that S/H's 'friendship' will surface very soon, and to please stay tuned! It's just slow because personally I can't see Snape just suddenly 'being in love' with her…**

***

Pressing her ear gently up against the door to Dumbledore's office, Hermione could hear muffled shouting. Scared to knock or enter the room as the note had instructed her to, she decided that it would be best if she waited down the corridor until the other person in the office had left. As she turned from the door and began to tiptoe away, she heard the door swing open and hit the nearby wall with a sharp bang. She spun round in fright and was confronted by Snape's steely glare,

"Miss Granger," Snape moved out of the doorway and signalled into the office with a quick movement of his head, "I would have thought that if the Headmaster labelled a letter 'Urgent', you would have the sense to take heed of it."

Hermione stood where she was, not daring to enter the office while Snape stood there with such a violent look in his eye. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she stared at him, before she finally replied,

"I did. But…but I heard shouting…I thought perhaps…I didn't want to…"

Snape cut in,

"Priorities are a healthy thing to have," he paused and raised an eyebrow as he glanced into Dumbledore's office, where Hermione could see her Headmaster talking to Fawkes, then he continued, "Your meeting with Dumbledore is considered, or should be considered, as your top priority at the moment – regardless of other things on your agenda…or what anyone else has to tell him."

Hermione held her tongue from saying, 'Like what you had to tell him so colourfully, sir?' then listened while Snape, as if he had read her thoughts, continued with a sneer,

"If you were afraid to interrupt you should add a hint of urgency to your daily actions, it could hardly worsen your personality."

Snape opened his mouth to say something more, but Hermione had had enough of him and choose to ignore him. After all, she did need a sense of urgency added to her personality didn't she? And waiting around listening to insults was only holding her back. Holding her head up high and pushing past Snape to enter, she strode into Dumbledore's office.

"Ah Hermione, you received my letter," Dumbledore smiled, "My idea for an internal mailing system is working then!" He chuckled to softly into himself then pointed at the chair opposite him and said,

"Please, sit down."

Hermione gave him a quick smile then sat down as she was asked to, hearing the door close behind her. Looking over her shoulder she saw Snape standing in the shadows of the doorframe, staring intently at Dumbledore.  Hermione's forehead crinkled in confusion and she turned back to Dumbledore to say something about Snape's presence. Before she could do so, Dumbledore held up a hand to silence her,

"Professor Snape is to stay with us. He does, after all, have a large part to play in what I have to ask of you."

"Oh." Hermione said blankly, not understanding what was going on. From the shadows of where he stood, Snape began to speak slowly and quietly,

"As you may know, I was…wrongfully…accused of a very serious crime."

"The murder of Cornelius Fudge." Hermione stated.

"Yes," Snape sighed, irritated at Hermione for putting it so bluntly, "This has prompted the Ministry to suggest that Dumbledore remove me from the staff at Hogwarts." Snape paused and waited for a reaction from Hermione. Hermione simply shrugged, for she didn't care whether Snape left or not, and asked,

"What has this to do with me?" 

Snape looked to Dumbledore, who stood up and smiled down at Hermione,

"Well, as I am in no mood to lose a valued member of my staff - indeed one of the best teachers I have working for me, I have decided to merely temporarily suspend him." 

From behind her, Hermione heard Snape mutter angrily over the word 'merely'. That must have been what all the shouting was about, she thought. 

"Yes." Hermione said blankly. Dumbledore looked at Snape then back to her. She felt confused, she knew that the two men were trying to get a point across to her, but she didn't know what that point was. 

Dumbledore decided that he would try a different approach to the situation, and the best one he could think of was to do with work. He walked over to his bookcase and pulled out a familiar looking book, then handed it to Hermione. Snape gave Dumbledore a curious look, and he replied with a wink. 

Hermione picked up the book and glanced at the cover then said,

"It's a copy of the Potion's book that we're working out of this year."

"Yes, it is," Dumbledore sat back down, "Could you show me what chapter you are on?" 

Hermione nodded and flicked through the pages of the book until she'd found the start of chapter 3 – the chapter they had just started looking at before the Halloween holidays, then handed it to Dumbledore. He smiled knowingly,

"I meant what chapter that you, Hermione Granger, are on."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and from behind her she could feel Snape's gaze burning into her back. She hated when people brought up the subject of work with her – especially when it was to find out what she was doing privately. Blushing, she took the book back from Dumbledore and turned to one of the last chapters. Snape walked over to Dumbledore's desk and picked up the book.

"Chapter 10?" Snape asked. Hermione nodded. Snape was impressed, he knew that the girl was studious but he never realised that she worked so many chapters ahead of her class. He had suspected that she might have glanced a chapter or two ahead of time, but to work that far in advance was something that he had never even thought about. He closed the book and turned to Dumbledore,

"Very well – you have proved the girl is ahead. And, as I have already explained, that does not mean that I am in the least bit happy about this idea." 

"And as** I **have already explained Severus, there is no other quick way around the lack of a potion's teacher." 

Hermione watched as the two men stared at each other for a few seconds, before Snape sagged and turned to Hermione. 

"Miss Granger, you have heard me say I do not condone the Headmasters decision."

"Yes, I have. But I still don't know what exactly it is that you **aren't** condoning." 

Dumbledore smiled,

"I am asking you to take on the task of teaching in Professor Snape's stead." 

Hermione blinked,

"Pardon?"

"We want you to teach. You are, as we have witnessed, ahead of yourself work-wise in Potions, and I suspect you are equally ahead in your other timetabled subjects. We believe that, in the circumstances, you would be a suitable substitute teacher."

Hermione stood up and held her hands up to the two men, as if trying to block them out, and said,

"I don't know what sort of joke this is…"

Snape shook his head with exasperation and, trying not to lose his temper, said,

"Why would we want to joke? The Headmaster and I are hardly your young Gryffindor friends who do nothing but that. We are asking…**I** am asking you to do me a favour. One which I am likely to regret, but one which the Headmaster believes to be necessary," Snape paused and stared at Hermione, who was still trying to figure out if what was going on around her was actually real, then continued, "So just sit back down and listen to what Professor Dumbledore has to say."

Hermione sat back down slowly and turned her head to Dumbledore. He sighed,

"As Professor Snape was…very quick to point out," Dumbledore shot Snape a disapproving look, "We are not joking. Far from it. The situation that our dear Professor is in is a very serious one – and one that puts great pressure on the school. This is why we are asking for your assistance. But there are consequences, as with all decisions such as this one." 

Hermione nodded,

"I understand."

"Do you?" Dumbledore smiled, "You realise that if you are to take Professor Snape's position, there is no telling when he will be allowed back to teach again –and that you could be teaching until the end of the year." 

Hermione thought for a moment, then something inside her brain clicked with what Dumbledore was trying to tell her, and she exclaimed,

"But my exams are at the end of the school year!"

"And your classes are throughout." Dumbledore added. 

Hermione suddenly realised what the two were asking of her, and her face fell in understanding. If she were to teach she would not be going to class, for the teaching would have to be full-time. Dumbledore sighed,

"I see you now appreciate what is being asked of you. There are two options open to you if you decide to take up the job. One being that you could work steadily throughout the year at night and weekends with your teachers, for help in parts of the course that you are unable to comprehend by yourself. Then at the end of the school year you can choose to sit the exams. These, as you know, are non re-sit. That means the grades that you gain in the exams will stick with you for the rest of your life – there is no changing them," Dumbledore watched Hermione for a reaction, but her face remained focused in waiting for the second option. He smiled wanly, and then continued, " Option two is to teach this year, and skip doing the exams. This will mean that you will have to repeat your seventh year next year."

"Repeat a year?" Hermione cried out in horror, "The thought of…I mean I don't mean to sound disrespectful to the school…but I could never repeat a year! I would look, for want of a better word of course, thick!" 

Dumbledore let out a short laugh,

"I thought your reaction would be as such," he smiled at Hermione, "Then are you willing to teach and to sit the exams at the end of the year?"

"I think so…but I don't know **everything** about Potions…" she replied uncertainly. Snape stood forward and said,

"Of course you don't know **everything**. But I…" Snape looked to Dumbledore, seemingly unhappy about what he had to say, "I…will help you through tuition. And although I am not to teach in a class, I will not see you having to mark all the work submitted to you," Snape gave Hermione a cold smile, "I do not want to see favouritism appearing in my class…it would appear rather coincidental if your friends in Gryffindor jumped from a fail to a pass, would it not?" 

Hermione nodded and smiled politely, but inside there was only one word that she would use to describe Snape – and that was hypocrite. 

***

**Please review, I like reader feedback ^_^!**


	6. Mistrust and Werewolves

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Chapter 6 – Mistrust and Werewolves

*** Fixed invisibility cloak mistake 12/12/02, thank you to Charlotte Black and Jinxx Alleycat for pointing that out, I'm such a dunce! As for the Point system…well…I'll just leave it, for she'll get the use of it in the next couple of chapters anyway, but thank you for pointing that out Jinxx – much appreciated!*******

A/N: Sorry this took so long to update, I've had trouble writing one of the scenes. If you want to be mailed when I update please tell me in a review ^_^! You'll all be happy to know that the next chapter will have the Snape/Hermione stuff creeping in. I hope you like this chapter, because the plot thickens! 

****

Thanks to: Footmonster, Purple*Passion, Mandy Snape, Snakecharmer, Hawkeyes, Charlotte Black, Sasery, Kitsunelover, Vara and Spunkz the wacked out Spaz!

Hermione walked down the corridor to the Library, her legs feeling like they were about to fold in on her at any moment. It was mid Tuesday morning, and her first class (which thankfully happened to be first years) was due to start in half an hour. She had spent yesterday afternoon with Snape going over what was to be done, and how she was to teach. He told her that help was only to be given to the first years during the making of the potions whenever said potions looked like they were about to explode. Otherwise, she was to leave the pupils alone for they were meant to have learnt about the making of it over the Halloween holidays. Hermione couldn't see the logic in not helping the pupils in their subject - for surely that was the role of the teacher? To Snape though, this was apparently not the case. Although he did not deny that a teacher was there to help, he did stress that the term 'teacher' came from the process of teaching somebody, and he had done this before the end of last term - by telling them to read a textbook. He also went on to say, with the greatest of sneers, that the pupil's job was to learn, and if this was not the case after two weeks of having time to learn something so simple then nothing could be done. Hermione was about to argue with this statement but was given a look of such hatred that she decided it was best to keep quiet. But she did vow to not stick to Snape's teaching methods - if, of course, they could be called that. She was determined to give help where needed and do Snape's job properly, for it was becoming clear to her that he was incapable of it.

Harry and Ron had, of course, reacted in a positive way to Hermione teaching potions. This was due to two things, one being that Snape would no longer be teaching them and two, they believed Hermione would mark them up. Well, they didn't actually believe it, for they knew Hermione would never do something like that - but they were hopeful of it. Both of the boys' faces, however, dropped when they found out Snape would still be marking all set assignments and exams. Still, they were both glad that they would no longer have to put up with him.

Hermione turned the corner and walked into the library, to find Marc filing books away ahead of her. She smiled,

"Hello."

Marc twisted round in surprise and lost his balance, letting the books he was holding drop to the ground. Several of them let out a sharp, hurt scream at their treatment. Marc clambered down the wooden ladder and began to pick each one up gently. 

"I didn't realise anyone had entered," Marc said apologetically as he stood up and walked over to where Hermione had just sat down. Smiling in jest he said, "So I hear you've become an honorary member of the Hogwarts teaching staff."

Hermione looked taken aback, 

"How did you know? I didn't know anybody else knew yet..."

"Oh you hear things when you work in such an exciting place as the school library," Marc flashed her a smile, then raised an inquisitive eyebrow,

"So...does this mean Snape has been fired?"

"Oh no," Hermione laughed, "Just suspended - Dumbledore is positive he'll be back in a couple of months. Supposedly they have no evidence to pin him down for anything else other than a few heated words."

"I see." Marc gave Hermione a brief smile then walked over to the bookshelves again to return to what he was doing before Hermione had entered. She put her head to one side,

"Why did you do that?"

"What?"

"Go cold on me all of a sudden."

Marc laughed, 

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about Snape's situation."

"I figured as much. You didn't look to pleased when I told you he was only suspended – don't you like him?"

"Me?" Marc shook his head, "Oh no, I don't know the man. Never had the pleasure of meeting him for he still hasn't visited the library this year. I've just heard rumours about him, that's all."

"Rumours? Of what?"

"Well, his loyalties for one," Marc let his voice drop to a whisper, "I mean it's not unlikely that he may not support Dumbledore as fully as he makes it look like he does...my mother always said never to trust shifty eyes."

Hermione's face filled with anger,

"Look, I don't know what you're trying to insinuate - but I trust Dumbledore's choice of teachers fully. And quite frankly I can't believe that Dumbledore would put his trust in someone without knowing for certain where his loyalties lie. To suggest something like that is to suggest that Dumbledore doesn't know what he is doing, and I can assure you he does." 

Marc shrugged,

"All I'm saying is that I have no reason to trust Snape."

Hermione gave Marc a sarcastic smile,

"And you have no reason to distrust him."

Marc stopped what he was doing to look at her, his look received by a stony glare. After a moments silence he finally replied with a simple,

"Quite."

****

***

When Snape walked into the conference room at the Ministry Headquarters it fell silent as every head turned to look at him. He carefully sat down and gave the room a cold smile. Dumbledore had followed Snape in, but was much more cheerful and gave everyone a quick 'Hello!' as he sat down and made himself comfortable. At the far end of the table Lucius Malfoy stood up and gave a little cough to grab everyone's attention, 

"Welcome everyone. You were called here today in light of new evidence concerning the death of our…most beloved…friend and Minister, Cornelius Fudge. As some of you already know I shall, for now, be standing in his stead."

"Isn't it such a coincidence that Fudge has been killed the year that you run for election?" Snape stated, angry at the look Lucius had thrown him when he had spoken the name Cornelius Fudge. 

"Severus, let us all remind you that you are the prime suspect in his murder," Lucius drawled, "I would not go around throwing such accusations – they are more likely to draw more attention to you than to shift it onto anyone else."

Snape scowled and sat back in his chair. Lucius continued,

"As you all know, the murder was carried out in an odd fashion…that being without the use of magic. But, on this note, we have come to the conclusion that magic **was** used to get into the room."

Dumbledore leaned forward,

"And what exactly is meant by that?"

Lucius threw a file down on the table with force, so it slid across the table to where Dumbledore sat. Lucius smiled blankly,

"That is what the Daily Prophet did not tell you. All the windows were locked and undisturbed. All the entrances were either guarded or heavily boarded up. There was no way that anyone could have got into that room without the use of magic." 

"I thought that it is impossible to Apparate inside Ministry buildings." Snape raised an eyebrow, curious as to what explanation Lucius would give over this predicament. Lucius let out an embarrassed cough, and several other people in the room let their eyes drift to the ground to avoid Snape's inquisitive glare. Lucius clenched his fists slightly and slowly said,

"The Minister has…or had…given permission for his office to be free of that particular rule. His reasons for doing so were, of course, his own…"

"What do you mean by that?" demanded Snape, knowing that Lucius was trying to keep something from him and Dumbledore – and most likely something that could help him get out of the situation that he was in. 

"Fudge had several, hah, lady friends, that would have been allowed direct entry to his office."

"So he was a friend of prostitutes?" Snape smirked. Lucius looked irritated and gave Snape a controlled smile,

"That is not what I said. Do not try and twist my words, Severus, they were merely friends. But they _were_ allowed direct entrance so their visits did not give the Minister undue embarrassment," Lucius waved his hand in an off-handed manner, "You know how the press can make something out of nothing."

Yes, thought Snape, I know all too well. Dumbledore smiled,

"I assume that these ladies have all been questioned about where they were on the night of his death?"

Snape watched everyone shift, once again, uncomfortably. I knew it, thought Snape; they **want** me to be guilty, therefore they are avoiding looking into other options. 

"Not as yet…no," Lucius rubbed his hands together slowly, "But rest assured, we are at this moment tracking them down for such questioning." Lucius gave Dumbledore a stiff smile, "But I am afraid that the evidence is piling up quite significantly on Severus here."

"All you know is that I fought with him that night," Snape said confidently, "Bluffing will get you nowhere – for there is nothing else that I did that would imply any involvement in his death."

Lucius nodded then held out his hand and simply said,

"Your wand, please."

"What?" Snape put his hand to his pocket and held on to it defensively. Lucius sighed,

"You know the procedure for situations such as these…old friend. The room where Fudge was murdered has been checked by a highly trained member of our staff for traces of wand residue…"

"But magic wasn't used in his killing!" Snape argued.

"It could have been used at some other point that night – for example, entry into the office."

Snape hesitated and looked around him, realising that refusing to hand over his wand was making him look even more suspicious in the eyes of onlookers. Reluctantly, Snape pulled his wand out of his pocket and set it on the table. He knew what was going to happen next – they were going to bring in Robin Barley. Barley was the only known werewolf that had been allowed to work for the Ministry, and was given the job on Lucius' recommendations too. It was well known to Snape that every wand left behind magic residue for several days after it had been used, and that this residue had a distinguishable colour - to a certain degree. The colours could be narrowed down into categories of, for example, the type of wood the wand that had produced the magic was or what its core was made of. The purpose of Barley was that werewolves, in their canine form, were able to see this residue that was invisible to the human eye. Barley would therefore be able to report back on what colours he could see in Fudge's office, and check to see if any were a close match to Snape's wand. Snape had always been against the checking for magic residue, because he said that it was all too easy for Barley to lie. And he wouldn't put it past him.

Lucius gave Snape a cold smile and said,

"You will get it back in a couple of days…"

"Of course," Snape nodded stiffly, "Now if you'll excuse me…I have a class to teach."

"No you don't."

"If you really believe that…**old friend**…then you don't know me half as well as you think you do." Snape gave the room a brief smile, and then turned abruptly on his heels to speed out of the room, his robes billowing out behind him. 

****

***

As the door to Snape's classroom closed after the last first year had left, Hermione let out a sigh and let her head fall on to Snape's desk. She muttered to herself,

"That did not go as expected..."

She hadn't expected to be bombarded by crumpled up parchment every time her back was turned, or end up with spitballs in her hair. But that's what had happened. The class was totally unruly, and had left a complete mess behind them. She tried to reason with them but it hadn't worked and, of course, she couldn't take points away. Her duties as Head Girl allowed her to give out warnings and detentions (as long as a teacher was consulted) but she was not allowed to use the point system. That was something she would have to talk to Dumbledore about - being allowed to take away or give points where she saw fit.

A rustling from behind her caused Hermione to swerve around in her chair just in time to see Snape appear out of nowhere, holding a cloak in his hand. He smirked,

"I must say you dealt with the spitballs superbly. Unfortunately, as you are not gifted with eyes on the back of your head, the note stuck to your back was neglected."

Hermione threw her hands to her back and felt around, and after several attempts grabbed hold of a piece of paper. She pulled it round to see what was written on it. Sprawled in bad handwriting were the words, 'Birds use my hair as a nest in springtime'. Hermione's jaw set in embarrassment and anger as she crumpled up the parchment and shoved it into her pocket. She noted Snape had stood perfectly still with a smirk on his face, that seemed to be verging on the edge of laughter, as she had struggled to get the note off her back. She stood up to face Snape,

"What are you doing here?"

"This is still my classroom, Miss Granger," Snape opened a wooden chest that sat behind him on the floor; to put the cloak he was holding away. After closing the chest he turned back to Hermione, "And if you are so presumptuous as to believe that I would neglect it then I would suggest you wake up pretty quickly."

Hermione stared at the chest Snape had just closed in realisation. Snape raised an eyebrow and said,

"Potter isn't the only one in this school with such a possession."

Hermione's cheeks reddened, not liking the fact that Snape had been watching her for the whole time the class had been in the room. Snape continued to speak,

"Your teaching methods leave a lot to be desired. You had no control over any of the pupils, your explanation of the potion the class were to make was poor and as for your practical skills...well," Snape gave her a cold smile, "I never realised how diabolical they were. Your skill to regurgitate words from your textbook may be of a high standard, but I do strongly advise you to get your head out of that book and practice some 'hands on' work. After all, a mouthful of words will get you nowhere in this world."

"It's got you places." Hermione replied back boldly, but Snape looked unabashed by the comment.

"Miss Granger," Snape said silkily, "Perhaps you are not aware, so I shall do you a favour and enlighten you: I am still above you…in many ways. And although you may now have control of teaching…_the brats_…that come to this school, you have no right to talk to me in such an offhand manner. **You** are still a pupil, and Iam still a teacher."

Snape walked forward and picked up the Halloween work that the first years had handed in, and then walked to the door. Before he left, he turned to face Hermione and said sharply,

"Be here at 8pm tonight - you'll be cut to pieces by your 7th year class tomorrow if you act like you did today. You need to work on your attitude and the potion you will be making." 

With those words Snape left the classroom, letting the door slam behind him. Hermione growled in irritation under her breath and looked around at the state of the classroom. She then whispered to herself,

"I think I'll just leave this for him to clean up…after all, it is his classroom – and he would _never_ neglect it…"

Grinning happily, she picked up her bag and went to find Harry and Ron. 

****

***


	7. Underneath It All

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A/N: Oh the lateness of it all! I haven't been online in ages…let alone near FanFiction. And I'm very behind in my writing, but NONE OF MY STORIES HAVE BEEN ABANDONED! Do not worry :)

Chapter 7 – Underneath It All

***

Marc was sitting at a table in the library staring into space absentmindedly whenever Snape entered. Engrossed in his thoughts, Marc began to mutter to himself under his breath.

"What was that you said?" Snape said sharply from behind Marc. Marc jumped in his chair and turned around to face the glaring man with a cold smile,

"Nothing important." 

Snape raised an eyebrow at Marc's painfully familiar smile then stated,

"I seem to have misplaced several advanced textbooks from my private stores in my room. I need the use of one of them tonight, and would like to take one out of the library. Is it possible for you to stop daydreaming and get it for me?"

Marc scratched the back of his neck, ignoring Snape's comment, and asked,

"Are you Professor Snape, by any chance?"

"Yes."

Marc gave out a whistle through his teeth and shook his head,

"Sorry, but while you're suspended from teaching your library privileges have also revoked."

"What do you mean by that?" Snape asked angrily.

"It means I'm not to let you take any books out," Marc walked past Snape and over to stand behind the check-out desk and continued, "I also think you will find that your 'misplaced books' were probably confiscated from your store." 

Snape let out a frustrated sigh and watched as Marc fumbled around in a box of index cards, before he smiled and pulled one out,

"Yes…all your books were taken by Professor Dumbledore. Apparently the Board of Governors believed that while the murder enquiry was in action you shouldn't be allowed access to the more dangerous books in your collection."

"But I have books at home with more 'dangerous' potions and spells in them!" Snape shouted angrily, shaking slightly as he did so. Marc gave him a patronising smile,

"From what I hear it's unlikely you'll be able to get into your house without being hexed, so I think it's a safe bet that you won't get your hands on those."

"Well then I think I shall just have to speak to Professor Dumbledore about this." Snape grabbed the card that Marc was holding and stormed out of the library, gripping the card so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

Marc stared after him with a grin on his face, happy to have enraged one of the most feared teachers in Hogwarts. He gave out a laugh as he muttered,

"So, that was the infamous Severus Snape. The rumours about him weren't true at all - he's much more ugly than an ogre."

***

On the stroke of eight, Snape set a curved bottle down roughly on the desk in front of Hermione and said,

"Dragon blood," He raised an eyebrow and looked to Hermione, "There are twelve known uses. You are expected to know of six of these uses, as is the class you are to take tomorrow. I suggest you start by testing them, on what little knowledge they have, by asking them to list the uses that they know of."

Hermione nodded. After a minute or two of silence, Snape sighed angrily,

"Well? List them for me. I'd like to think that the person they have…teaching…them knows what she is talking about."

Hermione stuttered slightly before she found her feet. Then, counting down with her fingers as she did so, she said confidently,

"One, dragon's blood can be used in potion-making to give the drinker short-term invisibility. Two, the blood can be used in potion-making to induce a state of coma in the drinker, but the use of it can bring on recurring nightmares years after the initial drinking of the potion. Therefore it is not recommended to use this potion," Hermione paused to look up at Snape, who was staring down at her impassively so as not to let on whether or not she was right. She continued, "Three, dragon's blood may also be used in certain love potions, as it is known to be a powerful aphrodisiac. It is possible to tell when a person has been drugged with such a potion, as the pupils of the subject's eyes take on a reddish tinge in the daylight. Four, it is believed that to bathe your body in the blood of a dragon will give temporary invincibility, the effect only wearing off once you shed the layers of skin that had absorbed the blood. This has been likened to that of how a dragon sheds its scales yearly or just like a snake would shed its skin. Five, it is also known that to dip a weapon of war in the blood of dragon, such as a sword, will give the weapon a magical power. The power is the ability to slice through any object with ease, and to even pierce the leathery skin of a dragon itself. It is rumoured that the sword of Godric Gryffindor was dipped in blood." Hermione faltered slightly in the rhyming off of the uses. Snape jumped at the chance to snap,

"Well? You have listed five, and you were asked to give six."

"Yes," Hermione's face fell serious as she muttered, "Six, dragon's blood is alleged to be the main ingredient required for the practice of Necromancy."

"Which is illegal throughout the world of magic and can earn you a kiss from a Dementor, if you are caught." Snape snatched the bottle of blood away from the desk and walked across the room to where a cauldron had been set up. He beckoned to Hermione to follow and said, 

"Tomorrow you will be making your class temporarily invisible, or at least, they will try to make themselves invisible. Before you go in to show them how tomorrow I'd like to make sure you can brew the potion yourself, and you will not leave tonight until I am satisfied you are capable of doing so," Snape moved away from Hermione and retreated to behind his desk to mark the mound of work that had built up over the day.

****

***

Lucius was tapping his fingers thoughtfully on his desk when he heard a rough battering of a fist on the door. He looked up and said calmly,

"Enter."

Barley made his way into the room quietly and nodded at Lucius in a respectful greeting. His large and hairy hands were in tight fists as he cleared his throat before he spoke,

"Lucius, I have compared Severus' wand against the residue seen in Fudge's old office."

"And?" Lucius raised an eyebrow and brought himself forward to hear what Barely had to say. 

"And… it was not a match. The shade of violet emitted from Severus' wand is darker than that found in the office."

Lucius gave Barley a smile that showed off the whiteness of his teeth, not unlike the toothy grin of a tiger speaking with its prey, and said slowly,

"Then _make_ it a match. He does not expect his wand back for another 36 hours, at least." 

Barley's forehead wrinkled in confusion,

"But you said to me yourself that you did not believe it was Severus…"

"I don't. But wouldn't it be much nicer to clean this mess up sooner than later? For me to start off as Minister having named and shamed our _beloved _Fudge's murderer?"

"With respect, Lucius, I would have happily lied about the residue, but…" Barley faded off. Lucius sighed,

"But what?"

"Someone else has been creeping around in that office. Someone…canine."

"But I have not authorised such a search!" Lucius spat out in an outrage. Barley nodded slowly,

"I know you haven't, but I never said that it was the ministry that had another checking the place out."

Realisation dawned across Lucius' face and he sunk back into his chair with an angry laugh,

"Dumbledore."

Barley shrugged,

"I don't know, but it is likely to have been anyone else?"

Lucius sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose,

"So we cannot pin down Snape with the accusation of his wand residue being present?"

"Not if we aren't prepared for a backlash of evidence from whoever it was in that office, be it through Dumbledore or a third party."

"I see. We need to get Snape out of the way somehow, Barley. And I don't give a damn whether he committed the murder or not, for I fear his…friendship…is wavering." Lucius looked up at Barley, whose eyes flashed with understanding of what he was being told. Standing up, Lucius gave Barley a knowing smile and said,

"For trust is as important as gold in such a friendship, is it not?"

***

Snape looked up at Hermione, who was scattering in the dried ingredients. He snapped at her violently, causing her to take a step back in surprise,

"Don't just throw them in any old way like that."

Hermione stopped adding the powdered mixture, unsure how to put them in if not like that. Snape stood up and walked round the desk to stand beside Hermione. 

"Give me the bowl." Snape demanded firmly.

Hermione handed it over. Snape rubbed the powder between his fingers for a few seconds,

"It could have been ground finer," he indicated to the bowl and Hermione imitated what Snape had done a second ago, "Do you feel the little bits of bark catching in your skin?" Hermione nodded and dropped the powder back in the bowl. Snape looked away from her and began to slowly sprinkle the powder into the cauldron, 

"Now imagine how they must catch in your throat," he paused watching the flow of the powder as it fell, "One of the many problems with this potion, when not enough care is taken in the making of it you will find the drinker will develop a painful swelling in their throat a couple of days after it has been taken." 

He then added disdainfully, 

"You may notice all of the class will have complained of a sore throat by Thursday." 

He handed the bowl back to Hermione, who started adding the rest of the powder slowly and carefully, and for the first time in her life appreciating how the powder did feel between her fingers – how rough it felt. She'd never really thought about the texture before, she had always just ground the ingredients until they looked reasonably powdered then threw them into whatever she was making. But now, as she watched the little grains falling, she realised how the feel of the powder added to the experience of making a potion, and how mesmerising they were to watch…how relaxing they were. 

Snape watched Hermione with curiosity, as she stared at the cascade of granules and took the time to feel each little handful. Hermione broke the thoughtful silence between the two of them, in a voice that sounded like she was talking to herself,

"I'd never realised the difference it makes when you take your time…" she said without taking her eyes off what she was doing. 

Once Hermione had finished stirring in the powder Snape said coldly,

"You sound as if you've learned something, and for once it's something that can't just be regurgitated from a book that you've read." 

Hermione nodded, not really listening to what Snape had to say. She picked up the stone plate that held the powdered eagles beak and holding it over the cauldron, she slowly let the powder fall in, in the same captivating way as the other. 

"Potions aren't something that should be just thrown together. Each ingredient you put in should be examined and treated like gold," Snape said with less of an edge to his voice than usual, "When making concoctions such as these your senses are your friends. Take time to feel each items texture, to watch the way it flows in your hand, or in its bottle. Don't treat making potions like it is a chore, when it's an experience. Your friends will find out that sometimes not bothering with attention to detail can have its side effects – even when recipes are followed to the word." Snape sighed, then when he realised he had let his guard down slightly, added harshly,

"Well? The dragon's blood isn't going to pour itself!"

Hermione picked up the glass bottle and looked at it for a minute or so, thinking. 

"Sir?"

"Yes? What it is now? Surely you don't need help in pouring in a little liquid." Snape said sarcastically.

"No, it's not that. It's just…the way you poured the powder in… I mean, is there a technique for liquids?"

Snape looked taken aback for a moment when he saw the sincerity in her face. He wasn't expecting her to ask him something like that, for Hermione was known never to ask for directions and especially not help. _She's showing an interest in what I have to say_, thought Snape.

"Well…I…" Snape was momentarily lost for words, "Well I suppose there is," he thought for a moment, slightly unsure of himself, and watched as Hermione moved away from the cauldron so he could add the blood. Snape shook his head irritably, 

"No, no, you'll have to stand in front of the cauldron too." 

Hermione moved back into her position and Snape moved himself so that he was standing directly behind her. From there he was able to look over her left shoulder to the table. Hermione picked up the bottle in her right hand and turned to hand it to Snape. He declined it,

"You're going to pour it in."

Hermione looked slightly worried but began to pour it slowly. 

From where Snape was standing he could feel Hermione's soft hair against his right cheek and the warmth radiating off her body. Letting out a quiet sigh, he let his eyes close slowly. Snape opened them suddenly and looked guiltily at the ground. Taking a deep cleansing breath he brushed his hair out of his eyes. _Some thoughts are not meant to be thought, Severus…_

He watched how she was pouring the blood for a moment, _yet, if she's to see what I want to show her…._ Snape thought, raising his hand slowly.

Snape's hand came from behind Hermione and grasped the bottle and her hand firmly. When his hand touched hers she jumped out of shock – not because he had taken hold of it, but in surprise at the warmth of his skin. She'd always imagined he would be as cold as his words. He then raised both her hand and the bottle, making them tilt slightly, so that when Hermione looked straight ahead she could see the candle on his desk gleaming through the blood.

Snape's voice came from beside her left ear and he was so close to her she could feel his breath on the side of her neck when he whispered,

"Watch where the candle light is bouncing off the blood while it flows… what do you see?" 

Hermione tried to focus on the little specks of light playing on the surface of the falling blood.

"I can't…"

Snape cut in, 

"Keep watching. Concentrate on nothing else."

Hermione looked again and watched as the light danced across the blood, trying to not think about Snape standing behind her. At the moment all she could concentrate on was his gentle breathing, each breath flowing past her neck and onto her cheek. She closed her eyes for a fraction of a second to try and snap out of the trance she was in. When she opened them again she stared intently at the flowing blood and the small dots of light hitting off it. And then suddenly she saw it; the droplets were no longer forming just another type of blood… the droplets were forming elegant red dragons, all flying downwards in one long stream of liquid. She blinked in complete shock, and they disappeared. Hermione let out the breath she was holding,

"There were hundreds of dragons!"

She turned round suddenly to face Snape with amazed and smiling eyes. This close to him she could almost see a smile forming on his lips also as he said,

"In looking closely, you will often find things are not entirely what they seem." 

Hermione looked back to the bubbling potion with a look of wonderment. As her back was turned, Snape rebuilt the stonewall of his face, knowing that he'd revealed a little too much of a different personality. Moving swiftly out from behind her, he made his way to his desk and muttered, 

"You should get back to your friends, it's getting late." 

"But what about the cleaning up?"

"I think I can handle a couple of bottles, Miss Granger." Snape said disdainfully. Hermione stared at Snape, who was now shuffling papers on his desk, seemingly randomly, with his back to her. There was something cutting in the way he had accented the 'Miss' that made Hermione none too keen on spending any more time with him that evening. But in letting his guard down, he had not only revealed a different side of himself to Hermione – he had let her see a side of him that she liked. She had seen beyond the cold Potions Master, and had seen his passion, dedication, and most importantly, she had seen his love for what he did.

****

***

Thanks : 

Footmonster, Sasery, Charlotte Black, Snakecharmer, Mandy Snape, Jinxx Alleycat, Kitsunelover, Pailay, Angel of the North, Sara, Ellemorpheus and Katie!

Thank you all so much, and I do apologise for the lateness. 


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